Tawang Gompa is a vast Buddhist Monastery that accomodates between 600-700 monks of many different ages. It's the second largest Buddhist Monastery in the world, after Potala Palace in Lhasa, and most of the buildings are at least 350 years old. We went there with a Monpa Pastor and he explained many things to us.
The day that we visited was a special holiday to the people there and so there were a few groups of elderly women circling the monastery, praying. There were so many young monks as well, possibly 5-6 years old. We found out from the pastor that every family in Tawang gives at least one of their sons to be a monk and sometimes even a daughter. There are Buddhist nuns as well, and they also have shaved heads, and stay in a different area of the city.
One day Houser and the American couple went early in the morning to see the monks chanting and they were only allowed to see the younger monks. The High Lamas were in another room that is forbidden to visitors.
The first morning that we were there, Houser found some people that he knew that were now living in Tawang. They invited us to dinner one night and we met with a group of believers living there. Tawang is a very "religious" city and the Christians have faced a lot of persecution there. The Monpa Pastor that we met had been rejected from his family and kicked out of his home. He is no longer accepted in his community and even his brother, a Buddhist Lama, won't speak to him. We met a lot of precious people there.
